Jan 13, 2024
Habits, Who You Associate With, Focus, & the Trick –
Best of Host Matt on Business Topics Part 2
- AZ TRT S05 EP01 (216) 1-7-2024
Things We Learned This Week:
- Think Habits, Not Resolutions (vs. Goals)
- You Are Who You Associate With in relationships, business, & life
- The One Thing - Why Focus is Critical - Key Results
- That’s the Trick - Daily Work, the Grind
Notes:
Seg. 1
Think Habits, Not Resolutions
We are often told to make New Year’s Resolutions, but then by February we have all given up on those promises. I am encouraging you today to start the New Year early with looking at how to improve your habits, not make resolutions.
Real change does not happen overnight despite what Facebook, and a highlight society has promised. Most successful people have good daily habits, make proper decisions, and are consistent with their follow thru.
We know that you probably are not motivated anyway to attack your New Year's Resolutions. So instead of some promise that can only be carried out by will power (or enthusiasm), how about a different approach?
The goal is not really to have a Resolution, as so much a lifestyle change that sticks. We are a collection of our thoughts, lifestyle, and daily actions. You can see it when you meet with people all the time. You notice how they look, act, or what they eat.
So let's stick to practical, and realistic advice. You want to develop actions (sleep habits, eating, rest, relaxation, meditation, etc.) that you will follow thru on daily. These will turn into habits, which will create that lifestyle change.
The popular notion is it takes repetition of an act over 20 to 30 days for it to become a habit. The reality is it is more like 2 months (or more) according to a study by Phillippa Lally is a health psychology researcher at University College London.
There are 3 books that have come out the last few years that cover these topics. We are all very busy, so I understand if you do not have time to read every self help or success book that is released. I've actually have only skimmed these books, but instead watched YouTube videos to get the themes. I am a believer in daily self improvement and online videos provide a good resource.
The Power of Habit: Charles Duhigg at TEDxTeachersCollege
Duhigg is a NY times writer who wrote a book that breaks down how we go about our habits, and what cues the brain has that create our habits. What's fascinating about this is if you start understand what rewards you receive from bad habits, you can find substitutes to replace with better habits.
The process for a habit goes like this - a Cue happens, then you have your Routine, then a Reward for the Habit. Duhigg's example is he would take a cookie break every afternoon about 3 pm. The Cue was 3pm, the routine was going to get the cookie, and the reward was eating the cookie.
This was a bad habit, and he was gaining weight. So he replaced this habit with social time everyday at 3pm. He would wander over to another employee's cubicle and talk to them. His reward would be social interaction, and distraction and he stopped his bad snacking.
Psychologically the more you do your habits, the less you think about the action. This is good when you have established healthy habits. Do not underestimate the reward part either. Even if you reward a positive action with a questionable gift. Over time you may not even need the reward, and you just do the action out of habit.
Arianna Huffington on The Science of Sleep and Success with Lewis Howes
This is not the best talk, but her main points about the importance of sleep cannot be overstated. So much of productivity is in society is linked to how much sleep one gets. Also a multitude of health disorders are linked to sleep, and everyone needs at least 7 (to 9) hours of sleep daily.
If you choose to ignore this, eventually you burn out or worse. We spend so much time adding things to our schedule, and this usually just makes us too busy. Instead of getting to all the things on your list, your work just suffers. Ultimately this affects your day, adds stress and hurts sleep. Slowing down, prioritizing your health (and sleep) will actually make you more productive over the long run.
Hopefully these 3 examples will help you to evaluate your current habits. Then you evaluate what you are working to change in your current routine to improve yourself over the long term.
Good Luck with your new habits. Have a good and safe Holiday Season.
Article: HERE
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Book in Three Sentences
1. An atomic habit is a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do but is also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.
2. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.
3. Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.
The Five Big Ideas
1. Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
2. If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.
3. The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.
4. The Four Laws of Behavior Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits. They are (1) make it obvious, (2) make it attractive, (3) make it easy, and (4) make it satisfying.
5. Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.
Book Summay: HERE
Seg. 2
Clip from Seg. 2 of:
You Are Who You Associate With
- BRT S01 EP21 6-28-20
+ Covid 19 Crisis & the Economy Homeless Population in Phx Struggling and How to Help
MB on You Are Who You Associate With
- in relationships of business and life
Notes:
Partner and hire ‘A’ people
Relationships
Process / Results
Strategies
Ultimate example – Paypal Mafia and all the tech startups that came from it
Steve Jobs died in 2011 years ago – Apple still a Top 10 companies.
Bill Walsh – Coaching Tree in football
Good manager is not needed - business runs itself
Guy Kawasaki on Bozo-itis: A hire A’s, B manager hire C’s – hire better than you.
Jim Rohn – average of 5 people you associate with
Partners – like a marriage. Pick carefully
Rate yourself – would you hire you? Partner with you?
If you do not like yourself – conscious choice to change, grow, adapt.
Habits / Strategies – like habits vs. diets or fad ideas.
Associate with Good People. People smarter than you. Life and business – drop bad associates
If you’re the smartest in room – then you’re in the wrong room.
Keep learning – associate with people who help you grow.
Article: HERE
FULL SHOW: HERE
Seg. 3
Clip from Seg. 2 of:
The One Thing, or Why Focus is Critical...
- BRT S01 EP19 6-14-2020
China, Tariffs, Business Marketing
MB on Goals, the One Thing, OKR (objective, and key results), and the importance of Focus
Business Books – Decision Making and Priorities
John Doerr – Measures What Matters
Former Intel exec
OKR – Objective and Key Results
Big objectives
Intel goal of overtaking Motorolla in chip making
Doerr was advisor to Google founders
Decision Making in business is crucial
Book Summaries on great business books to save time, and still get key concepts of the book
Blogs, YouTube videos, book summaries in detail – 10 pages vs 250 pages
Peter Drucker – Effective Executive
Managers need to understand their priorities
Work on first things first, and second things not at all
Goals, priorities, and time management
Work on the most important things, and know what to not be working on
One Thing – Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
The ONE Thing by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan – book summary
The Book in Three Sentences
- The ONE Thing is the best approach to getting what you want.
- Success is a result of narrowing your concentration to one thing.
- Success is built sequentially, one thing at a time.
The Five Big Ideas
- Not everything matters equally.
- Multitasking is a lie.
- Discipline is a result of habit.
- Willpower is a finite resource.
- Big is bad.
Book Summary Link: HERE
Article: HERE
“Anything not worth doing, is worth not doing well.” - Robert Fulghum quote
‘We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.’
– Jim Rohn
"Give me a place to stand (lever), and I will move the world." - Archimedes is said to have promised
Related show (Interview w/ Author Jay Papasan)
on The One Thing Book: HERE
Full Show: HERE
Seg. 4
Clip from Seg. 1 of:
This is the Trick? The One Thing to Exit Strategy to Moneyball & Business Lessons from Movies - Best of Business Part 2
- BRT S03 EP43 (142) 9-4-2022
What We Learned This Week
- That's the Trick - Daily Work, the Grind
- Dominos - Priority in Latin = First, what is your 1st Domino? Knock it down
- Advisory Team - importance of building a good team (CPA, Attorney, Banker)
- That’s the Trick – this is the performance
- What's the Problem? - from Moneyball
- We Don't Hire Brokers, We Train Them - from Boiler Room
That’s the Trick
There’s a scene in the movie The Prestige when the 2 young apprentice magicians go to see an older magician to learn his ‘Trick’. When the older magician is on stage he’s doing amazing feats of strength. Then they get a watch him after the show get into a carriage, he seems like a crippled feeble old man who needs help.
One magician says the other magician – ‘This is the Trick. This is the performance. This is why no one can detect his method. Total devotion to his art. Lot of self sacrifice.’
The ‘Trick’ is off stage, he’s always acting like a crippled old man. It’s simple, not easy.
We often look for something that’s not there, the big secret, when it’s actually just in front of our faces. Always more simple than we think.
We’re looking for the big trick, how to get rich in a moment. When the actual trick, is doing the work daily, weekly, monthly, for years. You hone the craft, measure your progress, and adjust over time. Respect the craft, as there is no overnight success.
The old line in business, it took him 20 years to be an overnight success. The Malcolm Gladwell book Outliers, says it takes 10,000 hours to master something. The expert has been practicing for 10 years.
The professional golfer, the actor, the musician, the chest master, the salesman, or work on their craft. Even the greats like Tom Brady, Buffett, or bodybuilder Schwarzenegger all honed their craft over the decades.
It’s Simple, not Easy. You have to show up every day, to the repetitive work, just doing the grind.
There is a great story about Sylvester Stallone trying to get auditions, and then trying to sell the screenplay for Rocky. He got thrown out of agents offices over 1500 times in the mid 10970s. Funny as there were only 500 agents in NYC. He actually got thrown out multiple times.
There are no success hacks, no magic, no secret sauce. The secret is to just do the work. You work daily and improve 1% a week, leads to 66% improvement in a year. You must be willing to do what others will not. Compounding works with effort day and day out.
Magic of Compounding is mass improvement over time, by perfecting the little things. Delay gratification and you see the results slowly. Build a base, not unlike the structure of a building.
If someone says it’s easy and you don’t have to work for it…. Then probably selling you something. If it’s easy with no sacrifice, or habit building, then it will not last.
When you cook a meal, what doe sit look like if you pulled it from the oven midway thru? You have to let it cook, to get the finished product.
Be in it for the Long Term. Let Compunding work for you.
Back to the The Prestige:
‘Sacrifice is the price you pay for a good trick.’
Not breaking character, you commit to the craft.
Article: HERE
Borden and Angier watch Chung Ling So's fish bowl trick
The Prestige (2006) – movie clip
Full Show: HERE
Reference Show:
McDonalds, Apple, Disruption, 80/20 - Best of Host Matt on Business Topics
- BRT S03 EP10 (109) 3-6-2022
Things We Learned This Week
- What Business Are You In? - McDonalds is a Real Estate Company
- Disruption in Business & Tech World - How to Handle The Innovator's Dilemma
- 80/20 Principle summed up is, 80% of outputs come from 20% of inputs – Focus on the 20%
- Steve Jobs 1997 Return to Apple – The Power of Focus & Simplify, Say No often, choose wisely
FULL SHOW: HERE
Business Topic: HERE
Investing Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/investing
More - BRT Best of: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+Of
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